Langa Community Arts Festival
Event Date:
10 June 2023
Event Time:
9:00 am
Event Location:
Guga Sthebe Arts and Culture Centre Washington St, Langa, Cape Town, 7455 Cape Town Western Cape South Africa
The Cape Town Arts Festival (CTAF) together with Langa Vibes (Langa Creatives Collective) will host the Langa Community Arts Festival to celebrate 100 Years of Langa on the 10th of June 2023 at Guga S’thebe Arts and Culture Centre from 9 am – 6 pm.
Langa Vibes collective was born out of the Creative Community Connectors Project – a PESP (Presidential Employment Stimulus Programme) run by the CDI (Craft and Design Institute) in partnership with the CTAF (Cape Town Arts Festival). It started in October 2022 and is shaped through a focus on the role of culture in community building and as a tool for identifying opportunities for innovation. The project provides social employment for creative practitioners in Cape Town communities, giving unemployed artists an opportunity to earn an income and be productive while playing a role in community building.
“The Creative Community Connectors Project really brought hope for us as artists here in Langa because during COVID-19 we suffered a lot, a lot of us had to sell our instruments to make ends meet – this project really brought back that pride and confidence in the arts in our community”, said Henry Jeane of Langa Creatives Collective
Cape Town Arts Festival, known for hosting Community Arts Festivals since 2004 has been offering training and mentorship classes to Langa Vibes collective with events management, marketing, and fundraising workshops since Feb 2023.
“We believe that job creation for artists goes hand in hand with developing extra skills to survive the ever-changing economic climate. Our experience in managing major events has become part of our community arts empowerment strategy by offering structured training and mentorship programmes in events management. This project will allow the Langa Vibes team to offer ongoing events planning and management services to their own community as well as to offer their services to other communities and festivals.”, commented Yusuf Ganief, CEO of CTAF.
The festival is supported by the Western Cape Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport, SAHRC Shine Project and Ariva Arts Foundation’s EMPLOI (Education Mentorship Programmes for Leadership, Ownership and Innovation).
“The events management and planning workshops are a dream come true for us because as much as I have been in the industry as a performer for so long, I didn’t know how to plan an event and now I know what to do in order to plan and manage a successful event”, said Queen Mhayi, Logistics Manager for Langa Vibes.
The multi-genre arts and culture festival will offer workshops in the morning from 9 am – 12 pm for primary and high school children in Weaving, Fashion Design, GBV and Face Painting, Bead Work, Music Theory, and creative writing.
The afternoon slot from 1 pm – 6 pm includes a music theatre production from Langa Vibes collectives, guest speakers, visual arts exhibition, and live performances from local artists as well as exciting headliners such as SimulationRXPS, Fancy Galada, Nceba Gongxeka, Isinqi Dance Group and TOUCH.
The festival which is free for all-comers promises to be a day of celebrating the Langa community with music, arts, local food and craft vendors.
Langa Community is celebrating 100 years this year and this event promises to be a day of celebrating the rich history of Langa through the arts.